Before I Go

 In approximately 3 months I'll be leaving Texas to move back to Minnesota.  There are a few things on my 101 in 1001 list that are Texas specific so my main focus right now is those 10 things as far as the list goes.  Well, a couple of them aren't Texas specific but I would like them finished before I leave.

Consider these my spring goals!

1. Pay off smaller credit card

2. Visit 3 Texas wineries

3. Visit 3 Texas breweries

4. Visit 3 Texas distilleries

5. Finish my Minnesota estate courses

6. Photograph 10 Houston area murals

7. Get Danny all of this stuff back

8. Try 3 Texas BBQ places

9. Go to the local farmer's market 5 times

10. Visit my Texas friends before I move

Thursday Thoughts - What's New With Me

If I had been on top of my shit you would have had a post from me every single day last week.  You also would have had one on Monday.  But life is a thing and last week included the end of the school year, packing up my apartment, moving all of my stuff into storage, & driving 1100 miles between Texas & Minnesota.  So instead you got 1 post, Monday Morning Coffee Vol 13.

That's not to say I didn't have posts drafted, because I did.  I had one drafted for every single day of the week.  Posts I started but never finished included:

-7 Years of Teaching

-What's Up Wednesday

-Summer Goals

-Friday Favorites

-Monday Morning Coffee Vol 14

Now of course if everything goes according to schedule MMC V. 14 will be popping up this coming Monday, but the rest, they probably won't get their own posts.  Well maybe I'll get it together & What's Up Wednesday will make an appearance at the end of this month, I've been saying that for a couple of months though & haven't actually posted one since March.

So instead of individual posts, here are some random thoughts & what I've been up to recently.

**I mentioned it about a week & a half ago, but I had a phone interview for a new job.  The interview was for an 11th grade US History teaching position at a newer high school down near Houston, WITHOUT coaching!  The interview happened on Wednesday May 29th at 9 am.  2 days later while I was somewhere in Missouri I got a call saying that they were still playing phone tag with my assistant principal, & it had to be approved by the board, but they'd like to offer me the position.  Monday morning I got an email from HR saying that I was officially being recommended to the board for employment.  So sometime next week I should be able to officially do my paperwork.**

**Besides family, I have told very few people about this, and other than my assistant principal & athletic coordinator at my current job, only 2 other people I work with even know that I interviewed.  Even though the job is basically mine, I don't want to make a deal about it or tell anyone until it's official.  AKA most people don't know that when I go back to Texas in July I won't be returning to my current job, and won't even be returning to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  So if you're reading this & know me in real life... surprise!**

**I finished Blue Highways & started listening to Where The Crawdads Sing on Audible**

**I chopped my hair off.  I've only been saying I was going to since November**

**Nash & I spent 2 days driving from Texas to Minnesota, with a stop in Wichita, KS.  Since being back in Minnesota we've been enjoying the nice weather & being in the country.  This is the life we were meant for**

**I've been trying to find a roommate, & a place to live for when I move back down to Texas next month.  I'm fairly certain I've found a roommate, but I'm still looking for a place.  Fingers crossed it all comes together!  I've been looking at houses because a)I want a yard for Nash b)I'm tired of sharing apartment walls with other people & c)a 2 bed 2 bath house is less per month than a 2 bed 2 bath apartment**

**I am in need of a new laptop, or will be very shortly.  My personal laptop conveniently died about the time I started my current job in which I got a work laptop.  However, the second I resign from my current job, which will have to be before July 1, I'm going to have to surrender the only laptop I've been using for the past 2 years...  Sooo I have to get a new one ASAP**

Linking up with Kristen.

Girls Weekend in Dallas-Fort Worth

Two of my best friends from college came to visit the first weekend in May.  It was so great to see them since I hadn't seen them since December, & it felt so nice taking a long weekend from work.

I picked them up from the airport around 1:30 on Friday afternoon & dropped them off again around 4:30 Monday afternoon.  We managed to pack a lot into our 75 hours.  If I was still working on my 101 in 1001 list their visit definitely would have counted as "be a tourist in DFW."

Friday night we went out in the Stockyards.  We of course went to Star Cafe for supper because Steak Salad.  Not only would that have been where we went because Sonja had never been & I feel the need to bring anyone, but Kayla asked before I could even suggest it.  I took her when she visited last year.  I'm telling you, it leaves an impression!  After supper we just hit up a couple of different bars down there & made friends with various people at each new place.

We went to brunch at Johnathon's in Oak Cliff.  I had been wanting to go there for awhile, & pretty sure I even suggested it as an option when Kayla was visiting last year when we met up with my friends Helen & Caleb.  We all got The Kure for breakfast & it was SO good!  Sonja & I did the build your own bloody bar while Kayla got a mimosa.  It was such a nice day out for the patio & despite being busy, our waiter was super awesome!

After brunch we wandered around Bishop Arts.  I love each of the different areas of Dallas, well I'm not really an Uptown Girl (cue Billy Joel), but I love how unique each area is.  I definitely like each of them for different occasions.  Anyway, Bishop Arts was Sonja's request.  So we spent the afternoon wandering up & down Bishop Ave in & out of different little boutiques.  At the end I made them take a detour down a side road so that we could go to Wild Detectives for coffee because I needed to be caffeinated.  We had been out super late the night before & still had a night ahead of us.

We went home, changed, hung out for a bit, & then headed to Deep Ellum.  Deep Ellum was Kayla's request & probably my favorite of the Dallas areas.  We had plans of mural hunting, & did see a couple, but hunger won out.  First stop, the Green Room because I am obsessed with their bacon wrapped jalapenos.  We hung out on the rooftop there for a bit sharing some appetizers & having some drinks before heading to Mama Tried.  Mama Tried is fairly new so I had never been there before.  It wasn't quite what I was expecting but the outdoor area was cool.  We played a few rounds of giant Jenga & my friend Raeann stopped by to say hi on the way to a concert.  We all decided that we were hungry though so I took the to Deep Ellum Brewing for some loaded tots.  We called it a night around 10-10:30 & headed back home.

Sunday we headed 2 hours east to Lindale so we could go to Miranda Lambert's Pink Pistol.  Sonja had never been, Kayla loved it last time, & I've managed to find cute stuff there every single time I've gone.  Which really isn't a ton because it's 2 hours away, but I've been a handful of times.  This time I walked away with a dress & a skirt.  Still trying to find tops & shoes to wear with the skirt.  I am open to suggestions!  We of course also got some of Miranda's wine while we were there.  Love & War in Texas used to be attached to the store & it wasn't until writing this post that I learned that in the last year it has changed it's name to Texas Music City.  The food was the same, the decor was the same, I would have never have guessed.  The food there is really good & it was obviously in a convenient location so we had lunch there before heading back to Dallas.

We had accomplished pretty much everything on our to see list by that point except for a few items.  I really wanted to go to a winery or wine bar near me, any winery/wine bar, because there are quite a few by me & I've never been to any of them.  We went to Umbra.  It was a fairly random selection.  We just went to Main St in Grapevine & wandered into the first one we saw that was open.

I also really wanted to go to Cauldron Ice Cream.  I would 100% be lying if I said I wanted to go for any reason other than Instagram.  However, the ice cream really is amazing & the Belgian waffle puff cone...YUM!  I just got salted caramel this time around, but now that I've done my Instagram thing I want to go back & try some other flavors.  They had one called Rose H2O & I'm really interested in that one!

On their last day in Dallas there was only one thing left on the list to do.  But first brunch!  We went to Ellen's in downtown Dallas & of course sat on the patio.  I got shrimp & grits which I have been craving for approximately a year & a half.  The fact that I haven't just gotten them at some point in the last year & a half while living in the south is 100% on me.  But I did it.  I got them.  They were good, not as good as the ones I had a year & a half ago in Deep Ellum, but still good.  I think I'm going to tackle my own this summer...

After brunch it was onto the last thing on our list, The Sixth Floor Museum.  The fact that I've lived in the DFW are for 4 years now, am a history teacher, & have never been there before is a little weird.  I blame it on the fact that you almost never do the touristy things in your own town though.  It was really well done.  You get your own headset with a handheld device that lets you go through the museum at your own pace.  

That museum is one of the 5 places you can visit if you get a CityPass.  However with the pass you can only choose 3 of them.  But now that I've done that one, I'm thinking that when I get back from MN this summer I'm going to buy the pass & visit 3 of the other ones (Reunion Tower, Perot Musuem, & Dallas Zoo) before school gets started again.

Because we still had some time to kill before they had to be at the airport & the weather was nice, we ended our busy weekend by just relaxing by the pool listening to some 90s & 2000s hip hop.

Dog Friendly Restaurants in North Houston

Over Easter weekend I went down to Houston to visit some old friends as well as the cute little town that I used to live in.  I brought Nash along because a)it was cheaper to get an AirBNB that allowed him than it would have been to get a hotel/AirBNB & to board him and b)I'm obsessed with my dog.  

Because I had him with me, I wanted to be able to take him places some of the time too rather than just keep him at the house the whole time.  A quick Yelp search made me want to move back even more.  I currently live in the DFW Metroplex, essentially halfway between both Dallas & Fort Worth.  When I lived in Houston I lived in a smaller town on the north side of the metro.  If you currently search restaurants on Yelp & then put on the "Dogs Allowed" filter, there are nearly 4 times as many dog friendly restaurants in the vicinity of the small town that I lived in near Houston compared to the city I live in now.  For added comparison, the city I live in now is 5x as large as the town I lived in near Houston.... soo 5x larger, 4x fewer dog friendly places.  As a girl obsessed with her dog, let's put another check in the win column for Houston.

I wanted to share with you a few of the places that I have been to, as well as a couple that I definitely want to go to next time!  (I was really bad about taking pictures while I was in Houston so with the exception of Bruster's & Cisco's, all other photos are from Yelp.

Have Tried

1. Bruster's Real Ice Cream (Ice Cream)

2. Tejas Chocolate Craftory (BBQ & Chocolates)

3. 403 Eats (Food Truck Park)

4. Cisco's Salsa Company (Mexican)

Must Try

5. Fire Ant Brewing (Brewery)

6. Craft Grill (Southern)

7. CorkScrew BBQ

8. Tapped Drafthouse & Kitchen

9. Lucky Dog Sport Bar & Grill

For more dog friendly restaurants in North Houston, click here!

...Hit It Out Of The Park

Yesterday I recapped the first half of my Memorial Day weekend.  I had mentioned how I was supposed to head to Austin Saturday morning with a friend for the weekend but something had come up & she was no longer able to make it.

Today I'm going to recap the second half.  The part where I took lemons & made them into lemonade.

Sunday

Remember last Monday when I brought up a boy that I went on 3 dates in a row with?  The one that I said was going to need a nickname.  Well first of all, my friend Ben said his nickname needed to be Pickles so Pickles it is.

Well, Pickles had no plans for Sunday & Monday of Memorial Day weekend so Sunday morning the two of us headed to Austin so that we could go to Lonestar Jam so that the tickets & airbnb wouldn't go to waste since it was all already paid for.

When we got there we got ready & headed off to Lonestar Jam.  It was hot. as. hell.  I really wish that they would either post the line up times online or allow for reentry.  However, since neither of those are true, we only saw the Read Southall Band & part of Mike & the Moonpies.  Neither of us really cared about anyone playing until 5:15 at the earliest, which was 2 hours later.  We both agreed that we did not want to sit in a field for the next 8 hours in 100 degree weather with little to no shade.  So instead we went to go explore Austin since Pickles hadn't been there since the 4th grade.

We hit up End of an Ear first to shop for some records.  Pickles found a few, I walked away with one lone John Cougar Mellencamp album.  With our records in hand we walked a couple of blocks to Radio Coffee & Beer for a beer before heading back to the airbnb to get ready for supper & a night out on 6th Street.  We got pizza & bar hopped around.  We were on a mission to find a bloody mary.  I really wanted to take him to Casino El Camino.  But apparently they closed down sometime between when I was there in December & now.  Sad day.  Sad, sad day.  (Upon further research just now... they had a fire last month & it's a temporary shut down.  Phew)  So we tried going to Moonshine but weren't down with the 1.5+ hour wait.  On our way back to 6th Street, slightly defeated, we stumbled across Texas Reds & Whites Tasting Room so we popped in to do a little wine tasting.  Because we got there 30 minutes or less before they closed, we were the only two in there.  The place was super cute & the owner was super nice.  Except for one tiny little moment where she made it slightly awkward with the following interaction:

Owner: How long have y'all known each other?
Me & Pickles: Two weeks
Owner: How did y'all meet?
Me: Online
Pickles: Bumble
Owner: Well I hope that y'all make it another 20 years

JC Martha! (Her name really was Martha...)  Stay in your lane!  Did you not hear the part where we've only known each other for 2 weeks??  Our first date was just 9 days prior... no pressure!

In all honesty it was handled with no awkwardness whatsoever on either of our parts... ok on his part.  He handled it like a complete champ & I awkwardly patted his knee & said "no pressure" before going to the bathroom.  I then felt the need to message all of my friends & their mothers my mother about said encounter...

We bar hopped some more on 6th Street before calling it a night around 11:30 so that we would be well rested for our brunch/bloody mary hunt in the morning since no bloody was ever found.

Monday

In the morning we went to Motzart's Coffee so we could enjoy some coffee by Lake Austin.  We tried going to Star Bar afterwards for their super fancy bloody but they weren't open.  So instead it was back to Moonshine Grill.  The wait was again 1.5-2 hours but we got a bloody while we waited... and the basically stalked the bar area so we could leap into seats the moment they opened rather than wait the 2 hours.  You'll be happy to know that our stalking paid off!

After lunch we began the long journey back to DFW.  We hit some major traffic on the way home & our 3-3.5 hour drive wound up being closer to 4.5 hours.  Eventually though we made it & I dropped him off before then driving another 40ish minutes home.  Nash was less than thrilled to see me.  Okay he was happy but mostly he was like "pictures?  Already?  You just got home.  Can't you just feed me & then get on with your shenanigans?"

When Life Throws You A Curve Ball...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I hope that y'all had a great Memorial weekend!

I only have three short days left of work & I am beyond excited!  I had another one of those weekends that don't turn out like you planned but still wind up amazing anyway.  I'm going to break my weekend up into two parts for you.

First up, Friday & Saturday!  Linking up with Biana.

Friday

Friday after work I went to happy hour at Blatt Beer & Table.  The company was awesome, the food was pretty good, the bloody mary was less than stellar, & the service SUCKED!

After happy hour we hit up Trader Joe's for some cookie butter.

Even though it had been an easy week, it felt like a long & exhausting week.  When I got home I was in bed by 9:30 & out before 10.

Saturday

Originally I was supposed to drop Nash off at his dog hotel around 9 am & head to Austin to meet up with my friend Abby so that we could spend the weekend in Austin at Lonestar Jam.  However, the night before she had to bail because of family stuff so in the morning I called his hotel to cancel his stay.

Saturday morning I tried taking Nash to our normal dog park for awhile so that he could have some fun & burn off some energy.  He wasn't having it though.  He spent most of his time laying over by the gate wanting to leave.  We might need to find a new dog park because he is starting to get this way more & more when we go there.  He was once bullied by a dog there & I think that has a lot to do with it, even though that dog isn't always there.

We spent most of the afternoon being productive around home & just hanging out.  That evening we met up with my friend & co-worker Lauren and her dogs at White Rock Lake Dog Park.  I had never been there before, & took approximately 0 pictures, but we both really enjoyed it.  It's not all that close to where I live, 45 min to an hour away, but we might have to spend some time over there this summer.  Nash had a blast at that park meeting all of the dogs & people.  After the park we took the dogs to Goodfriend Beer Garden for some burgers and beers.

Tomorrow I'll recap Sunday & Monday for y'all as that's where my weekend really took a turn for the unplanned but amazing.

All Around The Metroplex

Previously I talked about what Kayla & I did in Waco as well as what we did in Lindale.  Today I'm just going to share what we did in the Dallas-Fort Worth area over the 4 days she was here.

Thursday

We didn't really have a set plan for Thursday which turned out to be a good thing.  Because of weather, Kayla's flight got in about 2.5 hours later than it was originally supposed to.  So we just hit up Crazy Cowboy near me for some beer & food.

It finally happened y'all.  We walked in, sat down at the bar, & the bartender put my beer down in front of me without me even having to ask for it... I have found my bar.

Saturday

Before heading off to Lindale, we met up with Helen, Caleb, & Steve for brunch at Ozona Grill.  I did the bloody mary bar, which was the entire reason I picked that place, & then got the biscuits & gravy.  I also got a "Ranch Water" which was literally just tequila & Topo Chico.  Once I got more Topo Chico in there it was really good, before that it was pretty much like drinking straight tequila.  The food was really good & so was the bloody.

When we got back from Lindale that evening we got changed & headed out to the stockyards.  We ate supper at Star Cafe of course because that's how I do.  We also went to the Thirsty Armadillo, Filthy McNastys, & my personal favorite... The White Elephant Saloon.

We managed to stay out until around midnight, which is a lot later than either of us thought we would make it.  On the way home we stopped at Fuel City for some tacos because I couldn't let her leave Texas without getting REAL tacos.

Sunday

Sunday we just laid around by the pool until it was time to head to the airport & call the weekend a wrap.

Livin Like Hippies

Yesterday I recapped my trip to Waco to visit Magnolia Market and such.  Today I'll be sharing about the little trip Kayla & I took to Lindale.

After brunch with some friends, which I'll talk more about tomorrow, Kayla & I headed off to Lindale to check out Miranda Lambert's Pink Pistol & Red 55 Winery.

As girls who were formally fairly obsessed with Miranda Lambert, this was a bucket list item for Kayla & somewhere I was excited to go again.  #TeamMiranda

We did some shopping first before sampling all 8 of her wines.  Kayla figured it was smarter to shop pre-alcohol.  This time around I just got a coffee mug & some coffee.

After checking out her store & the winery we went next door to Love & War In Texas for some chips and queso as well as a salad... because we are now adults who know that sometimes in the middle of eating all the less than stellar food you just need to eat a salad.

And now time for the picture overload.

#MilesToMagnolia

Hey y'all!  I'm going to spend the next few days basically overloading you with pictures.  Today I'm going to share mostly sharing photos, and talking a little, about the trip Kayla & I took to Waco last Friday while she was in town for the weekend!  I hope everyone has a happy Tuesday!

Having been to Waco with my parents in March, I told Kayla before she even got to Texas that we'd be getting up at the crack of dawn & getting coffee and breakfast to go.  We stopped at Starbucks where I tried their new Ultra Caramel Frappuccino & then to Einstein Bagels for food because I'm obsessed.

Even though it was supposed to be sunny in Waco all day, Mother Nature does what she wants so we backtracked a little bit to make a pit stop in West Texas to check out The Whistlin Willow.  It was on my list of places to stop while Kayla was in town anyway so 2 birds, 1 stone.

They have super cute stuff y'all & at good prices.  They have an actual website, which I linked above, but where I first saw them was on Instagram.

Kayla wound up buying a tank top & necklace and I picked up a super cute and comfy t-shirt.

The owner is super sweet & seriously, how cute is the decor??

On the same street in West, maybe a block down, there is also a super cute boutique called Dixie Darlin.  I got this awesome piece for my living room there & it was only $35!  The owner's sister painted all of the art that is for sale in there.  She also had really cute clothing there as well.

It was still raining so we hit up Oakley's Texas Bar & Grill for a bloody mary & some chips and queso.  Our bartender was from Minnesota!  Not just Minnesota, but a tiny town right next to the small town that Kayla grew up in!  Small world!

We tried to hit up Magnolia Table for lunch before heading to Magnolia Market but at 12:30 the wait was 3 hours long... and they close at 3.  No thank you.  No restaurant is worth a 3 hour wait, especially not in the rain.

So instead we hit up Bubba's 33.  Once again small world, our bartender there lived in the same DFW town that I live in!  He was just training down at the Waco location 5 days a week before he actually gets transferred and moves out to Amarillo where he's originally from.

I got a really fun All American Margarita...

...and an AMAZING burger!

We finally decided to just suck it up and head to Magnolia Market.  At that point it was just lightly sprinkling and the rain wasn't going to pass for a couple of hours.  The upside to the rain?  There weren't really any lines & you could actually move around in the store unlike the last time I had been there.

After Magnolia Market we hit up Savage Finds nearby.

We also hit up The Findery nearby because we were told it was way cheaper than Magnolia Market.  This is a straight up lie.  First of all, Magnolia Market has surprisingly reasonable pricing.  Second of all, The Findery, while it does in fact have cute stuff, it is way more expensive.

We stopped at Pie Peddlers so that I could get coffee & then we headed back to DFW.  Of course when we got back to DFW it was super nice out.  We sat on my patio drinking & dealing with an eviction notice (it was a false alarm).  We eventually decided to watch Bring It On on Netflix and make a run to Popeye's for some food which was an adventure in itself... I'll just leave it at long lines, messed up orders, wrong amounts paid, & 3 workers who I'm 95% sure were high...